The Entrepreneur’s Dilemma: How to Juggle Multiple Projects and Have a Life, Too

By Eric

Let’s talk about how to juggle multiple projects.

How do you focus on multiple projects while keeping your priorities straight? I think this is something a lot of entrepreneurs struggle with. They always want to go to the next shiny object. I have a couple of shiny objects right now, but I have main projects I need to focus on, too.

The easiest answer is:

Whatever is generating the most revenue right now should be the main priority.

Try to go full force as much as you can on that project or, if you get bored of it, sell it. But it can be difficult if you have multiple projects up in the air.

For example, I’m working on a software as a service app and a senior living business, as well as writing a book–not to mention I’ve got Single Grain, Growth Everywhere and Marketing School.

At the same time, you have to take into consideration if you have kids, a spouse, or any other “projects,” too. Do you really have the time for all this? Because most people are okay if they have one core thing they focus on, and then the rest of of their obligation is their family. And that’s fine. But for me, since I don’t have those right now, I’m able to focus on all these other work projects, which at the moment is a blessing to have that kind of freedom.

Everybody has a different situation, but no matter what yours is like, I think it’s really important to look at it. Take a step back and say, “Am I able to take on these additional projects, even though they sound really good?” Maybe friends are reaching out to you, they want you to be partners, co-founders and things like that. Oftentimes, I think we bite off more than we can chew. For me, I try to schedule out time each week.

For example, early in the morning, I will work on my book, Leveling Up,which is about how gamers can change the world by playing the ultimate game of business. I’ve already gotten about 35,000 words written and now I’m reaching out for marketing purposes to see who will endorse the book.

That’s the main focus for me right now, but I’ve realized in the past couple weeks that I’ve let that drop off and need to bring it back because it is important. The book has long-term importance. It’s a “bigger picture” kind of thing because the mission is to continue to educate people, whether through marketing, entrepreneurship or my book.

We block out time each week to talk on the phone and connect. They’re both working on different projects, but we’ll set aside some time for this to get stuff done. What I do is delegate tasks having to do with development work and, on the marketing side, I’ll take on the work. All these different projects are at different stages. In some stages I’ll have to roll up my sleeves and other stages I’m able to delegate things.

With Single Grain, the digital marketing agency, we have people on the team so I’m able to use the power of multiple brainstormers, and then also take on things that I need to get off my plate. For the agency, the main thing for me is to just continue bringing on great people, continue pushing forward, and continue making adjustments as necessary, and then other than that it’s cash in the bank. That’s the role of the leader of a company once you have a couple of good people on the team.

Different stages and projects require you to be able to adjust on the fly. If you’re trying to juggle multiple projects, you have to understand that in some scenarios you can delegate work and in other scenarios you cannot delegate work. Different companies, different stages and different resources. Again, I think the most important thing is being able to block out time.

Read the book The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Resultsby Gary Keller and for each week establish the one thing that you want to be doing for that week. Ask yourself: What’s one thing I can do for this project and that project? But don’t try to take on too many projects. I think I’m pretty maxed out right now. I get asked to come on board new projects all the time, but I know where my limits are.

The older I get, the more realistic I am and the less I’ll probably start to take on, especially by the time I have kids, for example. By the time more responsibilities pile up as a parent, I’m going to have to drop some of these other projects. The idea is that all the time that I’m spending now on all these work projects will pay off down the road so I don’t have to crank as hard. Frankly, I won’t be able to crank as hard work-wise by that time because there will be other priorities.

I hope this post adds a little more clarity as to how you can go about juggling multiple projects. It’s not easy, and I think you also need to do an audit of what your true responsibilities are at the moment. If you have a baby and a business some other stuff going on, then I think you really need to audit your projects and maybe kill off a couple.

If you do have a lot of free time, then yeah, by all means try to juggle a couple more. But always keep your focus on that one thing that’s working well for you right now.

Disclaimer: As with any digital marketing campaign, your individual results may vary.

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Eric Siu (@ericosiu) is the CEO at Single Grain, a digital marketing agency that focuses on paid advertising and content marketing. He contributes regularly to Entrepreneur Magazine, Fast Company, Forbes and more.